Loose leaf binder



Feb. 8, 1938. A. W. MCCLURE 2,107,868

LoosE LEAF BINDER Filed April 19 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l J2. E- gg, /9 /4Feb. 8, 193s. A, w. MCCLURE 2,107,863

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed April 19 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 8 1* a ll J 2, 4l J 5" /Nrf/vrol? m19- MV Mm A 2f by Patenten-es s, 1938 annees LOOSELEAFBINDER Arthur McGlure,. Syracuse,^N. Y., assignor to McMillan BookCompany, Syracus N. Y., a.

`corporation of New lYork Application April `19, 1934,(s`erial No.721,319 3 Claims. (Cl. 12a-3).v

This invention relates to improvements for jloose, leaf bindersin whichan extensible back `member'is provided with reversely arranged leaf'impalingmembers or'posts. Y

I An'object of the Ainventlonisvrto provides, loose leafvbinderfcomprising twozbackior cover sections whichareimovable relativeYto each othenzto vary o zthe'zleaf. carrying capa'cityofA the binder;Y1

wi :Another object of ther inventionv is to ,provide t0 1a= 'loose leaf'binder of the above mentioned class o with simple `and eflicaciousmeans forjreleasably A limiting* the 'separati'ng. movement. 'of the;binder -sections,lwhereby said sections mayjbezmoved' to a ?maximumextended position beyondthe full Aleaf V'115i coniinig-position where'the leaves maybe ren :moved from-the leafv impalingv members 'or placed,rtheleonz- A further object resides-finproviding thebinder :sectionswith hinge meansY effective whenthe'sece ff-j@ tionsare'in the maximumextended4 position yto.

, permit said fsectionsto be; moved; into angular rek lationwii'ereby'the removal of; the =leaves from'oi' tithe; placement ofiAtheN leaves in'uthe binderI "is 1-fa'cilitated.: f ep; 11 4Other objectsandzadvantages pertaining'to the specific' parts of the deviceiwillbebroughtr out'fi'n y v-thefollowing description talcenin connection wit.the accompanying drawings, in which: i

A'Figure lis a topoplan vlew of a looseleaf binder 53u embodying thevarious featuresrof' this invention,v

'ftheoiiter portions of the coversvv being broken awayfand'the 'sectionsof'the'binder being shown f inthe contracted position.

\ Figure vv2is a plan view ofthe binder rsimilar to uat shown inFigurelandlllustrating' the binder sections b y fulljlinesin'thepartially extended ilp'osition adapted to receive itsfull capacityof leaves, one of the sections being'- illustrated by broken lines inthe :position assumed vwhen fully extended. l 1

.A 'Figure-8 is an enlargedy transverse sectional o view taken on line 33; Figure 2', illustratingv the o binderfsections'inthe fully extendedposition by 1, full 1ines,-and Vin angular" relation in the fully openedposition bybroken lines.

Y, .'.F .i`gur.e.4f is a detail horizontal sectional view Ytaken onlinev 4 4, Figure 3.'

@Figure 5. is an enlarged. transverse sectional '.50 `[view taken online 5 5, Figure w1. g Figure-6 is an enlarged"detaillongitudinalsectional viewtaken online 6 6;` Figure 1. Y Figure `'7"' is a detailVhorizontalV sectional view o taken on yline .1 1, Figure; f .55y'ol'llgure 8 is aV perspectivevlew of an end vportion @1Std-nge fromthe corresponding ends of the rof the binder illustrating the same inthe fully opened position.

Figure 91is a detail sectional view taken on line 9 9, Figure 8.

The binder as illustrated in the drawings comprises covers l and2,formed in any suitable manner'and which ,are hingedly connected as at3 and 4 to a respective back section 5 and v6 preferably constructed ofsheet metal.

These backv sections 5 and 6 are L shape in y'cross sectionV and arearranged with thecwider legs as 5" and 6 normally positioned one overthe other injuxtaposed relation, while the shorter legs as 5" and 6k"`of the sections are arranged aty the outer edges of the correspondingwider legs adjacent the respective covers i or 2 and to extend inwardlytherefrom. Each leg 5'. and 6" yhas the outer. longitudinal edge thereofreturn fbent as'at B tofreinforce the same. To each leg vn iernbert and6 are xedly secured a plurality of, in this instance, two, relativelylong leaflimpaling members orA posts l0, positionedone near a respectiveend thereof, and a relatively `short leaf-'impaling member or post Ilpositioned intermediate Vthe end posts I0 substantially midway betweenthe ends of the corresponding back section. The intermediate posts H areobviously in lineV with'v each other and are of such a length thaty whenthe back sections 5and 6 are in their innermostor fully contractedposition, the inner ,f'

ends thereof will terminate in slightly spaced relation, asillustratedin Figure 5. The posts l0 positioned at either end of the back sectionsare arranged in offset relation and are of such a length that when thesections are in the innermost or fully contracted position, they willex'- tend-from the leg to which they are attached to within a relativelyshort distance of the opposite legr asillustrated in Figure 1, it beingunderstood that the posts land II are spaced longitudinal- Y 1y of thesections so as to readily receive'suitably perforated leaves thereon inthe conventional manner.

At eachendof the back section 5 is provided anl upstanding guide orhinge member i4 having Y aside and end provided with inwardly extend,-

ing.l laterally disposed flanges I5, which are secured by spot welding,rivets, or the like, to the adjacentA portions of the legs 5' and 5 ofthe section. These guide members I4 are of substantially the same lengthas the wider leg 5 of the section and each is provided with a slot I6,

whichextends longitudinally therethrough with the ends of the slotterminating a relatively short guide member. The upper longitudinal edgeof the guide member I4 has a portion thereof return bent to form a guidechannel I8 at the inner face of said member.

The other back section as 6 is also provided at either end thereof witha guide or hinge member I9, normally positioned adjacent the inner faceof the corresponding guide member I4 with the upper longitudinal edgethereof registering in the respective guide channel I8. These guidemembers I9 are also provided with inwardly eX,- tended lateral flangesas 2Q which are secured as by rivets, spot welding, or the like, to theadjacent portions of the back section 6. The inner or free end of eachguide member I 9 has secured thereto a shouldered pin 22, which travelsin the adjacent slot I6 provided in the other guide member I4.

It will now be observed that the guide members I4 and I9 and, therefore,the back sectionsil and 6, are slidably and pivotally securedy togetherby the slot and pin connection, so that when-the sections are fullyextended with the pins 22 positioned at the outer end of the slots I6,the sections may be rocked relative to each other about the pins as apivot, until the sections assume a more or less tilting or angularposition krelative to each other as clearly illustrated in Figure 8 andby broken lines in Figure 3. f

In order that this tilting action of the sections may be freelypermitted, one of thesections as i5 has the wider leg 6 thereof somewhatshorter in width thank the corresponding leg of the other section, sothat when the sections are fully extended, the adjacent edges of thelegs 5 and I5 will be spaced apart sufliciently to permit said edges topass without coming into contact with each other.

Further, the guide members I9 on the inner section 6 may, as shown inAFigures 3 and 8, be provided with recesses or notches 24, in the vbottomedge thereof adapted to receive the adjacent portion of the innerlongitudinal edge of the leg 5' of the other section. These recesses ornotches 24 are not only of such a depth as to permit an additionalpivotal movement of the sections, but the inner ends thereof form stopsengaging the legs 5 for limiting the tilting movement of the sectionsand preventing the longitudinal edge of the leg 6 coming into contactwith the leg 5 and becoming bent or damaged thereby. The leg 5'v of thesection 5 may, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, be provided with a metalabutting clip 25 at either end thereof adapted to engage the guidemember I9. These abutting clips may extend over the material 26 such asleather, cloth, or the like, which is usually applied to the outersurface of the sections 5 and 6 to protect such material as the leg 5moves into engagement with the guide member I9. Ihis tilting of the backsections 5 and 6 to the open position shown in Figure 8 and also bybroken lines in Figure 3 is for the purpose of moving the posts I 0connected therewith out of parallel planes into planes extendingsubstantially at right angles to each other, with the ends of the postsof each section sufciently spaced from the corresponding post of theother section to permit the leaves to be readily remo-ved from the saidposts or placed thereon.

The moving of the back sections 5 and 6 relative to each other is alsoutilized to enable the binder to be readily adjusted to a greater orless Width, whereby the leaf carrying capacity of the binder may beincreased. In order that the extension of the sections may be limited atan intermediate position thereof, where the binder iS adapted to carry amaximum number of leaves, I have provided a releasable stop mechanismwhich in this instance comprises an inwardly extending lug 28 formed inthis instance by pressing up a portion of the leg 5 of the outerpositioned section 5.

This stop lug 28 yis formed in closeproximity to the inner edge ,of the,leg 5 substantially midway between the ends 'thereof. The lug extendsinwardly through an elongated slot 29 which extends inwardly from theouter or free longitudinal edge or" the leg 6 of the inner positionedsection 6.

A latch 33 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends as at 3i to theleg 6 of the inner section adjacent the slot 23, so that the holding endof the latch will extend across the slot 29 in the path of movement ofthe stop lug 23 for engaging said lugl and preventing further outwardrelative Vmovement of the back sections. The latch 30 may be manuallymoved out of the path of movement of the lug 28 through the medium of aslide bar 32 and link 33. The slide bar 32, in this instance, ispositioned adjacent the inner face of the leg 5 of the section 5, and isslidably secured to said leg by a pair 'of pin and slot connectionsillustrated at'3l, Figures 4 and 6.

The outer end of the slide bar 32 extends outwardly through a slot.provided between the inner end of the guide IS-and leg 6 beyond saidguide member and is bent laterally to form a nger piece 32', by whichthe slide may be readily moved longitudinally. The inner end of theslide bar 32 is provided with a recess 34 at the inner longitudinal edgethereof adap-ted to receive one end of the link 33 therein. The otherend of the `link33-is pivotally connected as at 35 to the inner end ofthe latch 3B, while the end of the 'link33adjacent the slide bar 32 isslidably connected to the leg 5'. bya pin and slot connection 36, seelligure 6. In order that the latch 30 may be automatically A restoredtoits operative position in the path of movement of the lug 28, as theback sections are moved inwardly toward each other, from the fullyextended position, the inner end of the latch adjacent the pivot 35 isformed with a cam surface 3il'=adapted when the oppositev end of thelatch is moved out of the operative position in the path of movement ofthe lug 28, to move across the slot 29 in the path of movement of saidlug so as to be engaged thereby as said ,lug moves inwardly and thuscause the latch to be rocked about the pivot 3| to the operativeposition.

It will now be observed that the relation of the lug A28 and latch 30are such that when the back .sections are, maintained thereby in theparallel extended position Vwhere the binder is adapted to carry themaximum number of leaves, the leg members 5 and 6' of said sections willbe maintained with their inner longitudinal edges in overlappingrelation, so that, althoughvthe back sections are moved outwardlyrelative vto each other, there will: be no space appearing, from theoutside, between the'back sections, and that the binderr will presentsubstantially the same gen- ,eral appearance Yfrom the outside as whenthe sections are in their innermost contracted position.`

It will also be readily understood that when it is desired to addvleaves to the binder or to remove leaves therefrom, it is only necessaryfor the operator to press lightly on the nger piece 32 to effect the'inner longitudinal movement of the slide bar 32,7whereupofnl the latch3Il'will release the stop lug 28 as illustrated by broken lines, Figure2, and permit the sections to be moved outwardly to the fully extendedposition y inwardly toward each other to the fully collapsed or leafretaining position.

Although I have shown and particularly dekscribedthe preferredembodiment of my invention,I do not wish to be limited to the exactconstruction shown, as various changes in the form and relation of theparts thereof may readily be Vmade without departing from the spirit ofthis invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a loose leaf binder, an extensible back comprising a pair ofsuperposed back sections, guide plates connected with the back sectionsand slidably mounted adjacent each other, means' connecting said guideplates comprising a slot in one ofthe said plates, and a pin secured tothe other plate and movable in said slot whereby the K back sections maybe moved outwardly from a collapsed position in superposed relation toanl extended position in transversely spaced relation, one -of saidplates being provided with a recess adapted to receive therein theadjacent portion of the back section secured to the other plate,

whereby saidback sections may swing about the pin as a pivot intoangular relation.

2.'In a loose leaf binder, an extensible back member comprising a pairof superposed back sections mounted for movement relative to each other,coacting leaf-impaling elements associated with the back sections andadapted to secure leaves in the binder during the extension of saidsections within certain limits, releasable cooperating means associatedwith the back sections adapted to limit the relative movement thereof,hinge means connecting the back sections and effective when said backsections are in fully extended position to permit said back sections andthe elements connected therewith to swing into angular position, and oneback section having slots therein adapted to cooperate with the other ofsaid back sections for limiting the angular movement of the backsections relative to each other.

3. Aloose leaf binder comprising a pair of superposed back sectionsmounted for movement relative to each other and adapted to have variouspositions relative to each other, a closed position, an extendedposition, and a position substantially at right angles to each other,said binder being constructed and arranged so as to enable said backsections to be manually moved into said relationships, a latchoperatively connected with one back section and a latch-engaging memberoperatively connected to the other back section, said latch and latchengaging member being in operative engagement in said extended positionand being movable out of engagement to enable the back sections to bemoved to the angular relationship, said latch having cam meansassociated therewith engageable with the latch engaging member formoving the latch back into position to engage said latch-engaging memberwhen the back sections are moved from the angular relationship to theclosed position.

ARTHUR W. MCCLU'RE.

